There was a warm glow of consensus about much of yesterday's MPA meeting, Victoria Borwick's fellow members of the Civil Liberties Panel taking turns to tell her how fabulous she was. As the accolades accumulated it became clear that the panel's report on the policing of last year's protests reflected a pleasing accommodation between widely divergent political views. Kit Malthouse too paid tribute to the document. Lord Toby Harris offers his own tribute here.

There was, though, one notable moment of disharmony when Deputy Commissioner Tim Godwin, filling in for Sir Paul Stephenson, took exception to suggestions that the Met had spread of disinformation about its handling of the events. "The Metropolitan Police service does not spin information," he declared with feeling, conceding only that "sometimes we make mistakes."

It wouldn't be hard to find people who'd snort long and hard at such a protestation of innocence, and who would go on to describe the higher levels of the MPS as historically addicted to the related dark arts of smear and leak. Cynics of that kind would waste no time reminding us about the misleading press release issued by the Met three hours after Ian Tomlinson's death and the days of evasiveness that followed. They would surely alight too on Commander Simon O'Brien remark that "all officers performed very well" and Commander Bob Broadhurst's that "I am happy with the way the day progressed," both made to Jane's Police Review.

The MPS must have a clear strategy of putting out factual information - get out the good stories, but get out the bad stories even faster. The MPS must ensure it is in charge of disseminating accurate and timely factual information.

To do anything else can only encourage the type of cynicism I've described and make police officers' jobs no easier.